Cement Shortage ‘Now A Crisis’

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30469, 17 June 1964, Page 3

Cement Shortage ‘Now A Crisis’

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 16. Unemployment is feared if the Auckland cement shortage continues. The shortage was described as a crisis by the president of the Council of the Building Industry, Mr N. E. Pollard, tonight.

The Mayor, Mr D. M. Robinson, said that if the City Council finance committee approved, he would send a telegram to the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) tomorrow drawing attention to the seriousness of the shortage. Mr Robinson received a letter from the general sales manager of Winstone, Ltd. (Mr D. P. Winstone) today urging the need for cement imports. Mr Winstone said it appeared the citizens of Auckland and the building industry in particular, were expected to carry the brunt of the cement shortage.

“It now appears,” he said, “that there is a feeling in the Government that the building industry in Auckland is going too fast and that this may be a good opportunity to slow it down and at the same time conserve overseas funds. “We believe that the Cabinet will be forced to make a decision to import cement as undoubtedly unemployment will occur and the. voter will be affected,” said Mr Winstone.

“Au immediate decision to import one 10,000-ton shipment is what is required.”

The price of cement should be increased to coyer any extra cost involved in overcoming the present shortage in Auckland, said Mr P. Winstone. Moves to overcome the shortage should be carried out by the cement industry as a whole, probably by the re-establishment of Cement Importers, Ltd., a nonprofitmaking organisation which handled a similar situation a few years ago. He said the. company could control, distribute and priceaverage cement throughout the country. Mr Winstone said apparently the only cement surplus available in New Zealand was in Southland, which could supply about 1500 tons a month. This cement would cost £lB a ton in Auckland because of the extra transport costs, compared with £l2 a ton exstore for local cement.

Mr J. S. Hutchison, the chairman of directors of the British Oxygen Company, Ltd., has arrived in Auckland to spend three days in New Zealand’ -visiting the company’s installations and examining new . developments?